Matcha/ Japanese Tea Workshop by Tsujiri London

I still remember the first time I visited Tsujiri in London, it was a place where my wife really wanted to visit to try their Matcha soft serve ice cream, I didn’t know much about Tsujiri then, but we really enjoyed their ice creams and desserts.

Visiting Tsujiri this time to experience their new Matcha Tea workshop has given me a deeper insight of Tsujiri’s core value, tea. It was a eye opener to the world of tea and I am so glad I went.

Our host Reika, also the manager of the Tsujiri Rupert Street branch was very friendly and extremely passionate about tea. She has been performing the art of Japanese tea ceremony for over 3 years and has extensive knowledge about tea. Her story and affection of tea really inspired me and my friends that attended and we went away with so much more appreciation to tea.

The workshop started with us having some sencha tea and quick introduction of what we will be doing. Reika told us the story of Tsujiri and the history tea and it’s origin. Tsujiri has over 150 years of history, founded by Riemon Tsuji in 1860. I was fascinated by how Tsujiri has transformed over the year and how far and diverse it has become.

I played a quick tea guessing game drink some cold brew tea, which was much harder than it sounds and then we went on to make our own tea with tea leaves.

The highlight of the workshop was Reika performing the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Every step and movement was done with accurate precision, details of how she used each tools was fascinating to watch, it was truly an performance of art.

We had the opportunity to them make our own matcha tea using a brand new bamboo tea whisk called Chasen, which you can also take home afterward.

Reika our host have such passion with what she do that we really shines through when she’s talking about tea and performing the tea ceremony.

The experience of the matcha workshop was fun, informative and in some way therapeutic when we were making our own matcha tea. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about matcha tea. The workshop is also a great if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of London and just experience the Zen of tea drinking and tea making.

If learning about Japanese tea isn’t your thing, check back our previous review at Tsujiri: